


Unlimited power

by Akitosan, Clever_friend



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Captain Hydra, Fluffy!HYDRA, Gen, Humour, Hydra Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-16
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-13 01:47:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16007726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akitosan/pseuds/Akitosan, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Clever_friend/pseuds/Clever_friend
Summary: When Steve Rogers came alone to free the prisoners kept in HYDRA Base, he had no idea that all HYDRA members were Captain America’s fans.





	Unlimited power

**Author's Note:**

> Translated into English by [Kana_Go](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kana_Go)

**A third option**

 

After soldiers booed him off the stage, Steve Rogers, Captain America, was sitting, sketching something in his sketchbook and feeling very sad. 

Where was that bend after which there was no turning back? When had he turned the wrong way? Why did it hurt so much to know that you'd been through so many trials not to fight alongside these people, but to jump on the stage in front of them, wearing that stupid costume? Like a monkey. 

That was not how he’d imagined it. 

A lab rat or a dancing monkey – all the same. While they, ordinary guys, were going through hell and dying, he, with all his superpower, was languishing behind the lines. 

Steve was so deeply immersed in these thoughts, carefully drawing himself as a monkey in his sketchbook, that he didn’t hear Peggy Carter call him at first. 

Peggy listened attentively to Steve's bitter words. He told her that wherever he appeared with concerts military bonds sold like hotcakes, and that was at least something to help the front. But perhaps if he had remained in the hands of scientists he’d have been more useful, it was just that money for the war was needed now, and research was progressing slowly those days. First Peggy just looked at sad Steve, with his so powerful body, but so restless spirit, then, looking into the distance, she said, “But there must be a third option. For example, you know that the 107th Regiment soldiers died, trying to break through to a HYDRA facility in Austria... No one came back. Someone was killed, someone was captured. They probably didn't think the war would be like that, either. Can you imagine if you ended up among those who were captured? In that case HYDRA would get genetic material to create a super soldier…” 

Peggy kept talking, but suddenly it struck Steve. The 107th Regiment. Bucky Barnes’ regiment. In fact, even if it weren’t Bucky Barnes’ regiment, it was possible that Steve would still go to rescue people single-handedly since the command didn’t allocate a team for this obviously doomed rescue operation. The only true and correct third option Peggy mentioned was to be a soldier in the war. 

 

**HYDRA’s morning**

 

Somewhere in the fog the sunrise snuck up on the HYDRA citadel. The morning started by the clock in the facility itself. HYDRA never slept, but HYDRA members slept sometimes, and each of them had a replacement. 

Rested, full of energy, they were waiting for the moment when their shift would start and they’d have to take their work positions. Someone was drinking tea, someone was yawning, someone was warming-up. This continued ‘til Karl, a lucky guy who was in charge of the mail, came running with the good news. 

“Look what I got! There’s a whole spread with Cap in this new issue of the magazine!” 

All HYDRA members instantly turned into a single organism. Everyone gathered around Karl: they adored Captain America. They discussed each new video passionately, they lived and breathed each new comic book. And the color spread in the magazine with photos of the gorgeous Captain… This was like Christmas morning! He was so handsome! Just look at those eyes! What a smile! 

“Last month I spent my whole bonus payment on war bonds,” quiet Roberto, one of HYDRA’s weapon geniuses, said with a dreamy smile, passing the magazine around reluctantly. 

Laughter united them again as the magazine did before. 

“Bonds? Really?” Karl asked, thus expressing everybody’s thought vocalized by his colleagues’ good-natured laughter. “Come on, Cap will never even know about this!” 

Roberto smiled sheepishly – he always smiled like that when he had to explain the obvious. 

“Yeah, I’m aware that Cap won't know about it. But it's just... it's like Cap and I have something in common, you know? As if I did something he’d asked from me.” 

In fact, many of them were going to spend their stashed bonus payments on war bonds. Cap said funds were required for military purposes, so who would help him if not they, his number one fans? But no one ever admitted that out loud or did that. 

There was only one person who didn't join the general fun – sure thing, it was Hans, the lab tech of the experimental block. His idol was hot Marlene Dietrich, not icy Steve Rogers. 

“I’m surprised at you,” Hans smiled sourly. “You do realize that all these bonds in the name of the Captain are just money down the drain. I spend my personal money on my personal needs and do the right thing.” 

“Okay, but what if Marlene asked you to donate something to her?” Roberto asked with his sheepish smile. 

And that was when Hans finally figured out the essence of what was happening. 

“If Marlene asked me, I’d sell my house and my possessions and follow her like Matthew followed Jesus, that’s what I’d do! But Marlene will never come here and I’ll never see her which means I won't know what she'd want.” 

Hans indulged in the reverie about giving up everything, going to America and seeing Marlene in person. Meanwhile those HYDRA members who were Captain America’s fans started a spirited conversation of Cap’s tour. He was at the front with his show, so – Zola might play any trick – what if they were lucky to get to the performance and see Cap in the flesh? Up close. 

“But I'll faint right away!” the nurse Anchen exclaimed. “If one picture of our Cap has such a strong impact on our souls, then if we see him in the flesh…” 

The clock struck the beginning of the shift. Red Skull came in. 

“Get to work!” he ordered. 

All HYDRA members obeyed, still with dreamy smiles on their faces. The magazine with Cap was carefully hidden inside the wall. 

 

**The war is important**

 

Steve Rogers approached the gates of the HYDRA citadel totally undetected. His red and blue shield didn’t stand out against the gray stones at all, but sharp-sighted Roberto who was standing guard still spotted it. At first Roberto thought he had been looking at the photos in the new magazine for too long, but when Steve got so close that denying his identity became not just irrational, but overall insane, Roberto couldn’t help it. He laid down his weapon carefully, raised his hands and started walking toward his dream. 

_Red Skull only pretends to be evil, but in fact he is a kind man_ , thought Roberto. _He heard our pleas and ordered Cap’s show for us right here lest we run off to watch it together with the American soldiers!_

Cap looked at Roberto in surprise, as if he were going to catch him off guard. 

_Cap wanted to surprise us!_ Roberto thought sadly, _but I blew it!_

“It must be some kind of trap,” Cap mumbled, coming closer and stopping at arm's length from unarmed Roberto who was looking at him with awe. 

“Oh Captain!” Roberto babbled, out of breath with excitement. “Captain…” 

The Captain was looking right at him with those beautiful bright clear eyes and asking something. 

“What?” Roberto dared to ask. “What are you saying?” 

“This is a HYDRA facility, I don't have the wrong address, do I?” Cap answered slowly. 

Oh, what a wonderful voice he had! No pictures could portray it! 

“I need to get inside.” 

“Yes, Captain, of course... Captain!” Roberto repeated, opening the doors to Captain America. “Welcome, we’re really happy to have you as a guest. The place is a bit of a mess, but we’re… we…” 

And streams of light gushed into the HYDRA base when the Captain… 

“America!” Roberto managed to finish. “Captain America!” 

...brought light of his presence to his entire secret fan club. All work was interrupted, excited voices could be heard from everywhere. 

“Captain America! Captain America's here!” 

HYDRA members of all kinds and ranks – from ordinary cleaners to brilliant scientists – gathered around the Captain. They behaved in a respectful way not to annoy their idol, but their eyes were full of such adoration that Steve was a bit confused. All the fans queued up carefully, prepared notepads and sheets of paper, those who had photos with the Captain prepared their photos and asked him politely to sign them. Steve did it diligently. Then he was asked to lift the machine standing nearby with one hand. 

“We know you're extremely strong, Captain. Please do us a favor!” 

Steve, still with a confused smile on his lips, put his pistol back in its holster and granted his fans' wish. He was rewarded with enthusiastic applause. 

“Guys, he's real!” 

“Aaaaaah! Captain America came to visit us!” 

The nurse Anchen, unable to control her overwhelming emotions, rushed to embrace Steve and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. 

“Cap, I... bought your bonds!” Roberto repeated again and again, dashing away a manly tear. “And they said... today... that you’d never know... but I still... because you said... you…” 

Steve was so moved by the fact that even enemies helped American soldiers that he patted Roberto on the shoulder. 

“Well done!” Steve said. “What about the others? Have you bought bonds?” 

Everyone looked down and fell silent. The money they’d set aside for this purpose burned them like fire in a furnace. Everyone looked back at Karl. Karl cleared his throat and started to speak, trying to look into Cap’s clear eyes so that he wasn’t angry and believed that they would mend their ways. 

“Not yet. But we’ll be sure to buy them! The war is important.” 

Steve nodded favorably and everyone perked up again. They thought they had to explain important things to Cap so that he didn’t consider them enemies. 

“Cap!” they said, interrupting each other. “Don't you get any wrong ideas, we don’t support Hitler. Hitler's emissaries were here and we killed them. We are for you, Cap. You are our hero! Captain, sign this card for my daughter! For my son, too! Give our dear Captain a moment's rest!” 

"Look," Steve said without distracting from signing things, “American soldiers are languishing in captivity in this place. You keep saying you support me, but my best friend Sergeant Barnes is locked up here, too! If you really support me, here is my first order: you must release all prisoners immediately, wash them and feed them!” 

The HYDRA members froze in horror, several outstretched hands with notepads and post cards fell. The terrible truth of Cap’s words burned their hearts. 

“Cap's best friend is here?” 

“Cap said we must release everyone immediately!” 

The half of the staff of the HYDRA’s secret facility was gone in a split second: they rushed to fulfill Captain America’s fair request. 

But suddenly the noise drew attention of the person whom no one expected to see. It was Red Skull, an old-school HYDRA member. This superhuman wasn’t burdened by fanaticism towards the best of all people for he was the first one enhanced by the serum, and for this reason the Captain had little to no influence with him. 

“What are you all doing here?” Red Skull cried when he saw that his perfect fine-tuned human mechanism malfunctioned. And who was the reason? The super soldier who danced on the stage for selling papers?! 

“Have you never seen a ham actor before?" Red Skull asked the sad-faced HYDRA members with a contemptuous look on his mug. “Get to work! Who let him in here? I didn't order this show!” 

Sadness left the HYDRA members’ faces as fast as it appeared there. Their faces darkened, became serious. Apparently Red Skull just didn't realize who was in front of him. He decided that this was not Cap, but the actor playing him. They started to explain eagerly, “He’s not an actor! You're wrong! This is the real-life honest-to-goodness Captain America! He HIMSELF! He lifted the machine with his two fingers! He’s shining! He’s exactly the same as in the photo, even better!” 

“Stop it!” Red Skull interrupted their excited speech. “I know that this is the Captain America, the incomparable Steve Rogers. The circus monkey who sells war bonds instead of dying for his country. Whom have you chosen to be your idol? Look at him! He even didn’t go to war... He didn’t descend into hell! He's holing up behind the lines while ordinary people are dying for him!” 

These words of truth said by Red Skull hurt Steve so much he winced. He hadn’t even killed any of the HYDRA members to save his friend. He’d just asked these cute fans and they’d consented readily to bring all the prisoners to him. 

Steve felt as if he was still sitting there in the military camp and drawing the monkey he'd become. As for the HYDRA members, they silently watched a tear of offense rolling down Steve’s cheek, and their hearts blazed with anger towards the person who’d made their Captain shed that precious tear. 

“HE HURT CAP, GUYS!” the nurse Anchen shrieked. “HE HURT CAP!” 

This outburst snapped Roberto, Karl and Pierre out of their stupor. They immediately emptied their clips into Red Skull’s head. The others reached for their weapons only after it was all over. Red Skull fell victim to his own narrow-mindedness. 

 

**Captain HYDRA**

 

Some HYDRA members were cleaning up the rooms after Red Skull’s cold dead body was carried out, the others were comforting Captain America. They told him he was doing a good job because war bonds were beneficial to the front, unlike being cooped up in the labs. Besides, no one published comic books about test subjects, and they, HYDRA members, would have a hard time without pictures of Cap in this harsh place. Steve listened to them and understood that they were actually right. As a result, his work had proven useful. He’d taken the HYDRA facility without spilling a drop of blood, at least personally. 

Meanwhile, the former prisoners – fed, washed, dressed in clean clothes – were brought to Cap. They watched in astonishment at evil HYDRA members who were honoring Captain America sincerely. Among them was Bucky and Steve could hardly contain his joy at the sight of his best friend. 

“Captain!” Karl spoke solemnly after conferring with his colleagues in the corner while Cap and the American soldiers were recovering from the joy of unexpected reunion. “We carried out your order. But there's something we'd like to discuss with you. Skull is dead, HYDRA’s left without a commander. Would you like to lead us?” 

That got Steve thinking. The offer was flattering. He saw these guys in action – they were a living organism, they understood what was good and what was bad, they didn’t need to be constantly controlled and, apparently, they were loyal to him personally. 

“I’d like to do it. Very much!” Steve answered. “I need a team to fight Hitler. And you are a good team, you’re well-organized and efficient.” 

“HURRAY! HURRAY! Captain HYDRA!” the happy HYDRA members started applauding. “We’re waiting for your orders, captain!” 

Steve even felt a bit embarrassed, seeing the adoration which could be read all over their faces. As if he’d made their dream come true. 

“Well, this is my order: let’s… destroy Hitler. After his death the war must end. I know that many people in Nazi Germany are tired of war and Hitler is the only one who prevents it from ending.” 

Hans whispered something in Karl's ear, Karl picked up the phone and dialed a number. 

“I need Berlin, Reichstag!” Then he shouted some code in German for a long time, after which he hung up and announced with a smile, “The order will be executed in the best possible way, Captain HYDRA. In five minutes you need to turn on the radio.” 

It was a long five minutes, but after some waiting the Captain got good news. Hitler was killed, more precisely, blown up by maids in the service of HYDRA. The war was over. 

All Steve could say was, “Well if so, here’s my decision! First, you all should go on vacation to gain strength, and then we’ll continue to work towards re-establishing world peace!” 

Hans was happier than anyone else because he’d long dreamed of a trip to the United States and attending Marlene Dietrich’s concert. From that day on, Hans became Cap’s fan, too. 

Captain HYDRA's era began with a celebration of life. 

 

**Epilogue**

 

 _It's good to be an actor_ , Steve Rogers thought. 

Now he was wearing his updated uniform with HYDRA emblem. He was sitting in a comfortable chair and drawing something in his sketchbook. 

_The power of art is the only real power over people’s souls. Dictators could never dream about that. Everything is dust, only art lives forever. My people need more photos and they’ll get them._

That was not how he’d pictured it. But that also wasn’t a worst case scenario. 

He nodded to the photographer, “We can start now.”


End file.
